And you thought last episode was wild, this episode felt EVEN MORE wild. Everyone who had been missing showed up and boy was it CHAOS. Unfortunately, things evened out between the two sides as Pieck comes in with the Panzor squad on her back and really just completely wrecks the scouts. Because the scouts caught Marley off guard, the officers there had no really good way to fight back. With their advanced technology, they would have had the upper hand as shown with how much Pieck evened the playing field with her machine guns. And if things weren’t bad enough, Zeke joins the fray. Putting the scouts in a tougher situation with three titan shifters front and center.
The Cart and Jaw titans make such a great team in defending the Beast Titan as each one are able to cover for the others’ blind spots. Unfortunately, the unit’s downfall happened because Porco got too impatient and charged in to retrieve the Founding Titan, breaking their positions. Which ultimately lead to Zeke being taken out by Levi the moment Porco leapt off on his own. Pieck even warned him that there’s no need to rush. Because of his rash decision, it cost them a Beast Titan.
The moment I had been waiting for finally came where my son sporting a new hairstyle came riding in on a little boat and completely obliterated the ship fleet by merely transforming. But man, seeing Armin commit the same devastation that Berthold did was rough. Especially when they showed us that kid dying under the wreckage. It’s pretty obvious that this was the last thing Armin wanted to do, but it had to be done in his circumstance and it was painful to see the clear regret in his face and voice. My poor son came back only to commit homicide…
The scouts did absolutely amazing this episode with how much damage they were able to pull off once the chance was made. Their abilities and reflexes are much better from when the series first started with Sasha able to get a headshot through ricochet and Jean was able to get back at Pieck for what happened and Shiganshina, leading to the Cart titan and the panzor unit to be defeated. Not to mention Eren doing the most metal thing ever by putting the War Hammer Titan into the Jaw Titan’s mouth and using him as a nutcracker.
Though not gonna lie, I honestly feel for both sides. I feel bad how Gabi and Falco basically had to watch all of their friends and comrades die right in front of them. And when they were just letting out bloodcurdling cries for help to Reiner just HURT. You could hear the desperation and helplessness in their voices. Kudos to the voice actors for screaming their lungs out. I even felt bad seeing Pieck’s team get wiped out. You could tell how close they all were before this and I’ve grown pretty attached to Pieck in the short amount of time we’ve spent with her. I even felt bad for Porco who just couldn’t stand the idea of being used to kill the War Hammer Titan and was crying out for Eren to stop. Though I’m sure part of it was because his VA was the one screaming soooo… So while it was awesome to have the characters we know and love “win,” I couldn’t completely side with one or the other. In war, there really are no winners and this series demonstrates that so well.
And we’ve seen instances that the kindness and genuine care of life still resonates within certain characters such as Sasha and Jean. With Sasha sparing Gabi in the previous episode. Even when Jean seems to have steeled himself, a part of his empathetic side still came out when he threw his Thunder Spear at Falco. While it seemed like the steam threw it off course, the projectory still looked like it was off to the side before the steam blew it away. It always pains me to see these guys have to become killers due to the world’s situation.
But man, every episode just continues to make me feel more and more bad for Reiner. The poor guy just wants to be put out of his misery, but still goes above and beyond to help those he cares about. Not only did he transform to save Falco when Eren first transformed, but he pushed himself to become a half covered Armored Titan because of Gabi and Falco screaming for his help. It was probably the best he could do with his depressed mental state. But I also think it’s important since he’s still going despite the depression, continuing to fight even when he thought he had given up. Now that I think about it, what Gabi and Falco did for Reiner felt very reminiscent of what Armin did for Eren when he went out of control all the way back in season 1. They had to have others cry out for their help to bring them out of their slumber.
I know I’ve said this before, but I can’t help but be in awe with how far Eren has come with his titan shifting abilities. Not only did he have the reflexes to harden and block the War Hammer Titan’s attack, but he transformed for the THIRD TIME that night. He’s also a lot more observant as he was able to determine that the War Hammer titan was all out of tricks and noticed that the Jaw titan was able to break through the War Hammer’s crystal. Also I couldn’t help but notice how different Eren’s eyes are now. Initially, they were very clear and vibrant, but now they seem clouded and more subdued. Possibly symbolizing how Eren’s morals have changed and how much of a monster he has become.
Man, so much happened this episode and it was all really well done. Whoever directed this episode absolutely brought their A game and it shows. From the camera angles, to the action, voice acting, everything just did so well in engaging me through the episode. Looks like things still aren’t quite slowing down just yet as the depressed Reiner is the last line of defense for Marley. I actually don’t remember too much from this part from the manga so I’m eager to see what will happen.
